An education in improvement

English teacher Tami Mouradian demonstrates how a predator appears during a group reading lesson with her 2nd and 3rd grade English class at Sycamore Elementary, a school in Orange that has earned a nomination for the prestigious Blue Ribbon Award.KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

National Blue Ribbon

Value: The award has no monetary prize. It carries prestige and can increase property values of nearby homes.

Top overall: Schools are invited to apply if they rank among the top 15 percent on state exams. Various criteria, such as other academic measures and innovative programs, are then considered.

Most improved: Schools with at least 40 percent of students coming from low-income families can also be chosen if they make significant improvements on state tests.

In 2010, Sycamore Elementary ranked as one of the worst schools in the state.

Sycamore's Academic Performance Index, or API, of 701 placed the campus in the bottom 10 percent of all schools in California.

Three years later, Sycamore has completed an astonishing turnaround. The school is on the cusp of winning a prestigious National Blue Ribbon, an award the U.S. Department of Education gives for academic achievement to less than 1 percent of schools in the country.

"We've had a few years of incredible gains," said Principal Erika Krohn. "Being a Blue Ribbon finalist validates all the hard work by our staff, students and parents. They deserve all the credit."

The state nominated Sycamore in December for the Blue Ribbon after two years of dramatic gains on state tests. Winners will be announced this fall. Virtually every nominated school wins.

Sycamore's turnaround began in 2010 when Krohn arrived as the school's new principal. Orange Unified School District administrators applauded Krohn with rescuing a school that struggled for years.

The school, where 87 percent of students qualify for subsidized meals and 71 percent are still learning English, had failed federal testing targets in math and English almost every year since 2002. That meant the school faced sanctions that included allowing students to transfer, changing leadership or converting to a charter.

In 2010, just over a third of students passed state exams in English and math. Last year, twice as many passed.

Teachers now meet regularly to craft individual lessons for students who have trouble learning. Struggling students are also funneled into after-school and weekend study sessions, where they receive more one-on-one support.

To engage parents, Krohn introduced Parent Institute for Quality Education two years ago, a nine-week parenting class with topics that include preparing for college and understanding state testing. Last year, almost 200 parents received diplomas after completing the course.

"The school's staff is very welcoming and constantly encouraging parents to visit and see what's going on," said Christina Camarena, the school's PTA president. "Now you're seeing more parents wanting to enroll their students at Sycamore."

In math, students like kindergartner Titus Messersmith learns from Jiji, a computerized penguin that leads students through games that require them to solve math problems along the way.

The program is part of the MIND Research Institute's math curriculum. The program creates lessons that help students learn fractions, division, multiplication and other functions through music theory and computer games.

"This is a lot more fun than learning from a book," said Titus, as he guided Jiji through an obstacle course that required the student to fit geometric shapes into appropriate holes.

Krohn credits Jiji for helping double the number of students passing state math exams.

Paul Flores, a 12-year teacher at Sycamore, said teacher morale is high, thanks to the Blue Ribbon nomination.

"It definitely feels like we're moving in the right direction," he said. "The principal's leadership has played a huge role. She's taught us that's it's a collaborative effort, where everyone needs to come together."

English teacher Tami Mouradian demonstrates how a predator appears during a group reading lesson with her 2nd and 3rd grade English class at Sycamore Elementary, a school in Orange that has earned a nomination for the prestigious Blue Ribbon Award. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Titus Messersmith, a kindergarten student at Sycamore Elementary, plays a computer game featuring "Jiji" the Penguin during his SP Math class which uses various activities and computer games to help young students learn the basic concepts of math. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Jocelyn Vasquez, a kindergarten student at Sycamore Elementary, plays a computer game featuring "Jiji" the Penguin during her SP Math class. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Second-grader Isabel Lopez raises her hand during a discussion in a group reading lesson taught by teacher Tami Mouradian at Sycamore Elementary. KEVIN LARA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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